hey baby (think i wanna marry you)
by AtLoLevad
Summary: Josh goes to dinner with his old law school study group. He ends up defending the institution of marriage, before going home to Donna. Set in the Santos administration. T for some language


"Hey," Josh poked his head around the doorframe of Donna's office, "I'm gonna be home late tonight."

He tapped the wooden frame with his fingers as Donna looked up from the sheaf of paper in front of her. She had a slightly wild look in her eyes - distracted and stressed - "Huh?"

Josh chuckled and stepped further into the office. "My study group dinner. I'll be home late."

"Oh," Josh could see the dawning recognition in Donna's eyes. "That's tonight? I thought it was on Friday?"

"Today is Friday, Donna," Josh planted both palms on the surface of her desk and leaned forward - his forehead was creased in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Donna waved him off. "I've been like a crazy person trying to organize next week's Women in STEM luncheon for Mrs. Santos." She rubbed tiredly at her eyes, "What time do you think you'll be home?"

"No idea," Josh shrugged. "But don't wait up for me. Get a good night's sleep."

Donna sighed wistfully, "A good night's sleep. I don't even know what that is anymore."

"Just think, if we're lucky you'll get to do this job for another six and a half years," he smiled cheekily.

"Oh goody," Donna said dryly, but Josh didn't believe for a second that she was serious. He could see the spark of excitement in her eyes - Donna loved being challenged.

"Seriously, don't stay too late," Josh said, snagging a potato chip from the open bag sitting on the corner of the desk. "Oh gross," he spit the half chewed snack into the garbage can.

Donna giggled, "Sorry! Those are stale, been sitting there since lunch time."

"Coulda warned me, Moss," Josh gave her a stink eye and then laughed.

"Sorry, sorry," she rolled her eyes. "But that should teach you to not steal my snacks."

"Donna, we're gonna be husband and wife. Your snacks are my snacks," Josh grinned. He shifted to lean his butt against the edge of Donna's desk and gave her a haughty look.

"Not true," Donna pointed her pen at him, "you absolutely refuse to share those stupid chocolate covered macadamia caramel clusters. Which, by the way, are super unhealthy for you."

Josh sputtered wordlessly for a minute. "Okay, but, but, CJ sent those from California especially for me!"

"I thought we were gonna be married and your snacks were my snacks?" Donna threw Josh's words back in his face with a smile.

Josh narrowed his eyes at her. "Playing dirty, Moss. Fine, you can have my snacks."

"Oh look," Donna spoke to an invisible audience, "Josh Lyman just turned 45 and has now learned to share with his fiancée."

"Oh ha ha, Jimmy Kimmel," Josh deadpanned. "I share. I gotta go. Get some real food and some sleep." He leaned around the desk and kissed Donna goodbye. She curled her hand around his neck and kissed him back.

"Have fun! I'll be at home, planning our wedding all by myself," she sighed, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and looking out into the middle distance dramatically.

"Aw, quit it, Donna," Josh whined. "You know you love it. Last time I made a suggestion, you and your mom and _my_ mom all vetoed it and deemed me - what was it? Tasteless?"

Donna covered her mouth to smother a laugh. Josh shot her a stink eye and she raised her hands in surrender, "you have taste... when I help you."

"You, Donnatella Moss," Josh pointed at her, "are mean. I'm adding that to my vows."

"I can't wait to hear them," Donna laughed, placing her hand over her heart in a mocking gesture and then cursing quietly as she realized she had drawn a mark on her chin with the uncapped pen in her hand.

"Good look for you," Josh grinned, pressing a kiss to Donna's cheek and darting out of her office. He heard her muttered 'pain in the ass' and laughed to himself.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Stevenson hated me!" Tyler Roberts grinned, knocking back he rest of his beer.

"Lies," Josh shot back, pointing at his old friend with the top of his beer bottle. "Stevenson wrote you a letter of recommendation."

Tyler snorted, "That letter? Jesus, he pointed out all of my bad habits and then, in one line at the end, said eh, I guess Roberts might be an okay lawyer."

Josh and the other two men at the table, Tom Mulvaney and Alex Torres, cracked up. Tyler groaned, "It's not fucking funny. It's a miracle Sloan and Collins hired me at all."

"And now you're the damn senior partner," Alex laughed. "Stevenson clearly knew what he was doing."

Josh sat back in his seat as the other three men teased each other. He couldn't believe he'd graduated law school over twenty years ago. It felt like a different lifetime. At 25, he never would have imagined the path his life would've taken.

"Aw come on," Tom groaned, slamming him cell phone down on the table. It vibrated in place for a few more seconds before going silent.

"Client?" Josh asked, assuming that anyone calling Tom this late would have a work emergency.

"I wish," Tom rolled his eyes. "It's Melissa."

"Oh, how's she doing?" Josh asked. Tom and Melissa had gotten married two years after they had graduated - Josh had been best man.

"She's a pain in my ass," Tom grumbled. He lifted his phone and shook it in the air, "Like this? She knows I'm out and still, she's gonna call another twenty times before I even think about leaving."

As if to prove his point, the cell phone in his hand started buzzing.

Without even looking at the screen, Tom punched the end call button and stuffed the phone in his jacket pocket.

"She knows it's boys night and she's not supposed to call," Tom shrugged. "I'm not answering."

"What if it's an emergency?" Josh leaned forward. "If anyone called me this late and that many times, it would be an emergency."

"With wives, it's always a damn emergency," Tyler rolled his eyes. He flagged down a waitress and ordered another round of beers. "Wives make a fucking federal case out of nothing."

"And the emergencies are always so stupid," Alex groaned. "Dana calls me whenever she gets a flat - like we don't have a Triple A membership."

After that, it was like a dam had broken. The three married men began airing their grievances about married life.

"You think that's bad? Jenny's father hates me and every time she tells him that I fixed a pipe or something in the car, he runs right over to re-fix what I've already done," Tyler grumbled, draining half of his beer.

"Again, she's calling again," Tom looked like he was ready to smash his cell phone under his shoe.

Josh raised an eyebrow. "What if it's something with one of the kids?"

"Ugh, it probably is," Tom slurred. "Kids are the worst. Ungrateful brats. Give them everything and they don't even say thank you."

Silently, Josh thought that might have to do with Tom and Melissa's parenting skills, but he didn't say anything. Their two teenagers had been supremely spoiled when they were growing up, if he remembered correctly.

"Never have kids, Josh," Alex added his two cents. "It's not worth it."

Josh frowned; Donna wanted kids and he wanted kids with Donna. He hadn't kept up with his law school friends throughout the last few years of the Bartlet administration, but hearing them talk about how miserable they were was kind of shocking.

"They never get back in shape after kids either," Tyler said, waiving his beer bottle in the air. "They say they will, but they don't!"

"Forget that," Alex cut in, "once you have the first kid all the sex is off the table until they want the second kid. I thought the best part of marriage was not having to use a condom anymore."

"First you gotta wait six weeks..."

"Then it extends even longer 'cause she's not in the mood..."

"Then when you finally get it in, it's gotta be with a condom 'cause she doesn't want to get pregnant again."

Tom and Tyler shouted over each other to agree with Alex. Josh crossed his arms over his chest.

"So what if your wives didn't go back to pre-baby weight?" he asked. "None of you are at your lowest weights."

The first year and a half of the Santos administration had been rough, both Josh and Donna had gained weight in the lead up to Election Day and in the first months of transition. Josh was holding onto ten pounds more than he wanted. Donna, on the other hand, tended to lose weight when stressed, no matter how many bags of chips she had sitting on her desk. Between being CoS to the First Lady and both of their mothers 'helping' her plan the upcoming wedding, she had lost a lot of weight, getting a little too skinny for Josh. He liked her with some curves - bony hips, knees, and elbows weren't overly pleasant in bed.

His old study group looked at him, with Alex finally speaking, "Easy for you to say now. Donna's a babe. You'll be singing a different tune in a couple years."

Josh narrowed his eyes at Alex. "Don't call Donna a 'babe'. She's more than just her looks."

He'd learned a lot about underestimating her in the past few years. Her departure for the Russell campaign and the long talk they'd had about her feeling undervalued had done a lot to change his attitude. Donna had always been vital to his success, but now he actively recognized her importance in his life and told her so on a fairly regular basis.

"Okay, yeah, whatever. She still looks better than any of our wives," Alex shrugged.

Josh agreed, but then again, he was biased and he sure as hell wasn't going to tell these guys that.

Desperate to change the subject, he asked Tyler how working as a Manhattan prosecutor was going.

"I'm doing good work - just won my last case," he said, not without a slight bragging tone. He frowned, "But Jenny's always on me about moving to the private sector - more money."

Josh laughed, "Yeah, government work is thankless. But the fact that we're making change? Priceless."

He finished off his beer and surreptitiously looked at his watch. He wondered if Donna was still at the White House. Most likely, she was. He wanted to sneak away and call her - tell her to go back to their apartment and get some rest. He was feeling fuzzy anyway and needed a break from the smoke filled air of the bar.

Tom's phone buzzed again, and Josh braced himself for another tirade against his wife. But this time, Tom looked at the screen, gave a little half-smile and pushed away from the table. "Be right back," he said and practically ran outside to take the call.

"Wonder who that was," Tyler said. He kicked back in his chair, "So running the free world, what's that like, Lyman?"

Josh grinned. He loved talking about his job. "The President is doing great things. We're pushing through a new healthcare bill. His education reform is slow going, but fights on the Hill are my bread and butter."

"Doubt that," Alex poked at Josh with his beer bottle. "Santos is too soft."

"Seriously?" Josh looked at Alex, bug eyed. "The President is anything but soft. He and the First Lady are Texans," he laughed, "They're tough and they're doing great things for this country."

"Santos has been on a one track healthcare kick since his campaigning days," Alex leaned forward. "His foreign policy is weak. No other country will take us seriously."

"Weak?" Josh yelped. "Are you kidding me? We _just_ opened talks with a certain Middle Eastern country about -" He cut himself off - technically knowledge about those talks were only for high level senior staff.

"That's all these politicians do," Alex rolled his eyes, "Talk."

He said it like it was a different four-letter word and Josh winced. Sure, they did a lot of walking and talking in the White House, but they got a hell of a lot of shit done too.

"Yeah," Josh snapped back, "'cause personal injury defense work is helping the nation."

"Fuck you, Lyman," Alex drawled, laughing. Tyler joined in and after a beat, Josh chuckled too. He ruffled a hand through his hair and subtly pushed his beer away. He definitely had a buzz going - much less than the other guys, but he didn't feel like being hung-over on a Saturday morning that he could be spending with Donna.

Tom returned to the table, looking incredibly happy. His mouth was turned up in a smug smirk and he carried four more beers.

"What's got you looking so cheery?" Tyler asked, grabbing a beer and double fisting.

Tom gave them a cat that ate the canary look and said slyly, "Not telling you schmucks."

"Aw, come on," Josh laughed, feeling better now that the conversation had turned from their unhappy marriages and politics. "Can't leave us hanging like that."

Tyler and Alex started egging Tom on, trying to get him to tell them who was on the phone. Tom laughed and finished off his beer. He swayed a little on his feet and smirked, "Naw, not telling."

"Ass!"

"Jerk!"

"Dick!"

The three men threw beer nuts at Tom and he almost slipped trying to dodge them.

"Quit it," Tom grumbled, sitting heavily in his seat, "I wanna spend the night with Anna, not in the ER!"

"Anna?" Josh stopped throwing the bar snacks immediately. "Who's Anna?"

Tom frowned, "Shit."

"Are you... are you _cheating_ on Melissa?" Josh asked slowly, his eyes wide and mouth slack.

Looking sheepish, Tom rubbed at the side of his nose. "It's not cheating, Lyman. I've only seen her a few times."

"Is she hot?" Tyler leaned forward and practically toppled out of his seat.

"A babe," Tom grinned. "Best part is she's twenty-five and doesn't need to wear a bra."

"Ayyyy!" Tyler and Alex slapped Tom on the back, but Josh felt his stomach roll.

"Are you kidding me?" he yelped suddenly.

The other men jolted back, giving Josh startled looks. Tom opened his mouth to say something, but in typical Josh fashion, he steamrolled over the other man.

"You're fucking cheating on your wife," Josh repeated incredulously. "You're 45 years old, you've been married for 18 years and you've got two kids and you're cheating on your wife. Unbelievable."

Tom stood up, angry, "You don't know shit, Lyman. Don't pass your high and mighty judgment on something you're not a part of."

"Yeah, no," Josh snapped back. "You've ignored Melissa's calls all night and the second your side piece calls, you're all grins and skipping. And you two," he rounded on Tyler and Alex, "What the hell? Cheering him on?"

"You're not married, Josh," Tom snapped. "You don't know what it's like."

Josh stood up too and took a long drag from his beer, "Yeah, okay, maybe Donna and I aren't married yet, but I can tell you that I don't want anyone but her."

"That's because you haven't been stuck with her and no one else for so long," Alex argued, getting into the fight. "It's boring."

"Do you know how long I've wanted to be with Donna?" Josh asked incredulously. "Nearly a decade. Donna's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Until she's not," Tom laughed. "It's all downhill from the newlywed phase, Josh. You have kids, then jobs take up all your time, she gains weight, suddenly it's been months since you've had sex. Anna's young, she laughs at my jokes. It's exciting."

Josh rolled his eyes, "Marriage is a privilege. If you're not going to take it seriously, get a damn divorce! Don't cheat on your wife."

He frowned, "It's not like someone had a damn gun to your head when you proposed or when you stood at the altar. Do you know how hard people fought for the right to get married? For Christ's sake, mixed race couples couldn't get married until the Court let them. The Lovings wanted to be married so badly and you're over here shitting on that privilege."

Josh paused to take a breath and the other three opened their mouths to argue, but Josh held up a hand. "I'm not done! Marriage is a cornerstone of our society. It's a foundational, fundamental right. You're allowed to get married because the Constitution says so. But adultery is a crime in the eyes of the law and you don't have the right to cheat on your wife. Since none of your are practicing Catholics, you all have the right to a divorce too." He glared at Tom, "Maybe you should exercise that right."

Without allowing for a response, Josh shoved his arms into his jacket and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm leaving, it's been interesting. Good luck, guys."

He slid around the table and made for the door. Tyler's shout stopped him.

"You're leaving 'cause you're too good for us, Lyman?"

Josh turned, shook his head, and said, "Nah, I'm going home to Donna. Even if you don't want to spend time with your wives, I can't get enough of spending time with mine."

He gave a quick little eyebrow raise and navigated his was through the crowded bar for the door. On the way out, Josh looked at his watch. Only 11 - hopefully Donna would be home and awake - he just wanted to spend time with her after hearing about Tom's mistress.

* * *

Maybe he was a little drunker than he thought, because Josh had to try very hard to be quiet as he entered the dark apartment. He didn't succeed. His keys clattered to the hall table after he pulled them out of the lock. Leaving behind a messy trail of his winter jacket, suit jacket, backpack, and shoes, Josh made his way into the bedroom.

He had the sense of mind not to turn on the overhead light since the lump of blankets piled on the bed was a sure sign that Donna was sleeping. Quietly, he made his way blindly into the bathroom and stripped off his work clothes, leaving them in a messy pile on the floor. He opened the medicine cabinet to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste and knocked his head on the edge of the door when he leaned down to splash water on the brush.

"Ow, dammit," he yelped, jumping away from the counter and lifting his hand to his forehead. No blood, but a definite bump.

"Josh?" Donna's sleepy voice drifted into the bathroom. Josh grinned and slid out of the bathroom on socked feet.

"Hey," Josh replied softly. If CJ or Sam could see him now, they'd tease him mercilessly for the goo-goo eyes he was giving Donna.

Donna fought her way out of the tangle of blankets and flipped on the lamp on her bedside table. Josh grinned wider at the sight of her. Donna's hair was in a messy ponytail to end all messy ponytails and her shirt - a flannel stolen from Josh's drawer - had moved while she slept, exposing her neck, collarbone, and left shoulder.

"Hi," an amused smile tilted the corner of her lips upwards. She blinked sleepily a few times and bent her legs, curling her arms around her shins. "Fun night?"

Josh sneered, "Ugh, they're pompous assholes."

Since it was so late, Donna bit her lip and didn't make the obvious comment, instead she held out her hand to gesture Josh into bed. "What happened?"

He climbed into bed, crawling to his side over Donna. Stretching her legs out straight, she laughed and smacked at his side, "Joooosh! Stop it!"

"No," Josh replied on a laugh, finally flopping onto his side of the bed, but keeping one arm draped over her thighs. He traced patterns on her skin, his thumb inching under the frayed hem of her sleep shorts.

"You're back earlier than I thought you'd be," Donna said quietly, inching her way down the mattress so her head was back on her pillow and Josh's arm was around her waist. She rolled onto her side and reached out to smooth Josh's wild curls. She brushed her thumb over the growing red bump on his forehead and he winced. He smiled at her and leaned into her touch when her fingers slid down to cup his cheek.

He shrugged, "Guess twenty years is a long time ... not much in common with them anymore."

His gaze dropped and Donna wondered what happened. She hummed sympathetically and twisted her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. "I'm glad you're back though."

"Hmm?" Josh caught her eye again and waggled his eyebrows. Donna smacked his chest with her free hand and laughed.

"Not like that, you weirdo!" she said. Off of Josh's wounded look, Donna continued, "I'm just saying, it's been a long time since we actually went to bed at the same time. I like sleeping in your arms."

In the dim glow from the lamp, Josh could see that Donna's cheeks had gotten a pink tinge to them. They'd been together for a year and a half - comfortable around each other for even longer - but the more intimate parts of their relationship were still new. It set Josh's mind thinking about Tom's mistress and Tyler and Alex's congratulatory reactions. His hand stilled on her hip where it had been tracing lazy patterns and he looked at her seriously.

"Donna, you know I would never cheat on you, right?" he said firmly.

Donna's eyebrows drew together in confusion, "Josh...?"

"And I'm never gonna get bored of you," he continued seriously.

"Josh, how much did you have to drink?" Donna asked, frowning in concern.

"And I won't even care if you gain weight or it takes forever to have sex after we have kids or if you make me wear a condom," he rambled a little at the end, feeling his eyelids get heavy.

"Josh, you're worrying me," she replied, running her hand over his cheek.

Josh leaned into her touch, "I just wanna marry you, Donnatella Moss. You and nobody else."

Donna let out a little laugh, "Well, it's a good thing we have a wedding date set for three months from now."

Josh scooted closer and buried his face in the crook of her neck, wrapping his arms around her back. Donna rested her cheek against the top of Josh's head and wondered what exactly had gone down at his catch-up dinner and drinks with his old study group.

"I think I'm a little drunk," Josh mumbled into her collarbone.

Donna giggled and ran her fingers through Josh's hair, "Yeah, I think you are. But it's okay, I like being able to drink my fiancé under the table."

Josh grumbled something that sounded like 'mean, mean woman' and then moaned against Donna's chest, "I went on a rant about how marriage was a foundation for society."

Donna's fingers stilled, "what?"

"Tom Mulvaney is cheating on his wife," Josh pulled away and looked Donna in the eye.

"Oh," now his rambling made a little more sense.

"And they're all so miserable with their wives," Josh said, his eyes wide and sad. "I don't..."

Donna held up a hand to gently stop him. "Josh, I know you. We worked out our issues after the campaign. We're solid, partners, right?"

"Yeah," Josh pressed a sloppy kiss to her shoulder and Donna smiled.

"Then don't worry about what your old law school friends are doing," she said, "If I haven't gotten bored of you by now, the rest of our lives isn't going to change anything."

"I love you, did you know that?" Josh said after a beat, leaning up on his elbow to kiss Donna properly. He was feeling much more sober now, especially with the way Donna was looking at him. She leaned into the kiss and grinned against his mouth.

"Love you too, Josh. Even with those extra few pounds of transition weight," she winked and then shrieked when Josh growled and rolled on top of her, kissing her fiercely. She giggled as he tickled her, shouting, "I thought you were drunk?"

Josh kissed her jaw, "Second wind?" His hands roamed their way down Donna's body and up under her shirt. She was warm where his hands were cold and Donna shivered under his touch. Her back arched subconsciously.

"We have nowhere to be tomorrow," Josh said lowly, one hand sliding down her hip and under the waistband of her shorts.

Donna hummed in agreement, hooking one leg around the back of Josh's thigh and pulling him closer. Taking advantage of the implicit consent, Josh slanted his mouth over hers.

"Never gonna get bored of you," he kissed her collarbone. "Of this," he kissed the top of her breast.

"We're a team, Josh," Donna murmured breathily.

Josh grinned against her warm skin - he loved this woman more than anything in the world.

* * *

 _A/N: This wasn't going to be anything substantial, just a quick oneshot of Josh getting offended that his old law school friend was having an affair and then going home to Donna, but it got a little long. I'm still really happy with how it came out!_

 _This takes place about a year and a half into Santos' first term - making Josh about 45 and Donna about 33 (according to the research I did on the Internet lol). Josh graduated law school in 1986, but that's not overly relevant here. Just telling you where I got my numbers from :)_

 _Drop me a review and let me know what you think! :)_


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